Wringer



1967 P. M. HORROBIN 3,338,073

WRINGER Filed June 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

P. M. HORROBIN Aug. 29, 1967 WRINGER Filed June 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheetz.

FIG.4

United States Patent Gflfice 3,338,073 Patented Aug. 29, 1967 3,338,073WRINGER Paul M. Horrobin, Erie, Pa., assignor to Lovell ManufacturingCompany, Erie, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed June 16, 1965,Ser. No. 464,448 3 Claims. (Cl. 68-256) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Anupper wringer roll of the type having bearing seats for its shaft andpressure members urged by springs toward the bearing seats in whichstops associated with the pressure members engage the shaft in thepressure released position and provide a clearance between the upperroll bearing seats and the pressure members equal to the maximum wear ofthe upper roll shaft bearings.

This invention is intended to increase the service life of fixedpressure wringers by a construction which is substantially unaffected byhearing wear. In the prior fixed pressure wringer, there are trappedcoil springs which apply pressure from a pressure member to the upperroll shaft through its bearing seat. In the pressure released position,the pressure member bottoms on a stop associated with the upper rollshaft bearing and there is no application of pressure to the upper rollshaft. In the pressure applying position, suitable mechanism pulls thepressure member downward toward the lower roll shaft and establishes theoperating pressure. The pressure applying mechanism has a fixed traveland accordingly as the bearings wear, there is danger that the travelwill be insufficient to develop wringing pressure on the rolls. In thepresent invention this difiiculty is overcome by using the upper rollshaft as the stop in the pressure released position and providingsufficient clearance so that the roll pressure is always present even atthe maximum wear occurring during the life of the upper roll bearing.

In the drawing, FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a wringer with the rollpressure applied, FIG. 2 is a front elevation with the roll pressurereleased, FIG. 3 is a section on line 33 of FIG. 1 showing the rollsseparated as by the passage of clothing between the rolls, and FIG. 4 isa sectional view through the pressure mechanism in the releasedposition.

In the drawing, the invention is shown in connection with the wringer ofapplication Ser, No. 315,946, now Patent No. 3,224,237, but isapplicable to any type of fixed pressure wringer.

The wringer has the usual upper and lower rolls 1 and 2. The lower rollhas a shaft 3 journaled in bearings 4 mounted in pressure carryingrelation at opposite ends of a bottom frame 5. The upper roll has ashaft 6 with opposite ends journaled in bearings 7. The bearings for theupper and lower rolls are within side stiles 8 and 9 fixed to oppositeends of the bottom frame 5. The side stile 8 is suitably secured to awringer head 10 containing the usual driving mechanism for the lowerroll shaft 3. The upper roll is driven by friction from the lower roll.The upper ends of the side stiles 8 and 9 are enclosed by caps 11 and 12which are free to move up and down. There is no connection between theupper ends of the side stiles 8 and 9 and this type of wringer isaccordingly known as an open top wringer.

The roll pressure is transferred to the wringer frame by two slides 13,one on each side of the frame. The slides have horizontal slots 14receiving guide pins 15 fixed to the wringer frame. The guide pinsconveniently may be shoulder screws with the inner ends screwed into theframe and with heads overlapping the outer side of the slides 13. Ateach end of the slides are inclined cam surfaces 16 cooperating withpins 17 fixed to the lower end of pressure member 18. The pins 17, likethe pins 15, are conveniently shoulder screws. Associated with eachpressure member 18 are trapped coil springs 19 arranged between theunder side of flanges 20 on the pressure member 18 and nuts 21 on bolts22 extending through upper roll bearing seat 23 engaging the upper endof the bearing 7. The springs 19 are compression springs which act inthe direction to urge the flange 20 toward the bearing seat 23. Thespring pressure mechanism is duplicated at each end of the wringer. Thebearing seats 23 are connected to the associated side stiles solelythrough the pressure member 18.

In the pressure released position shown in FIG. 4, the flange 20 isspaced from the upper roll bearing seat 23 by a distance 24 equal to orgreater than the maximum wear of bearing 7 occurring during its life.The upper roll shaft 6 bottoms on a stop section 25 of the pressuremember 18 which limits the movement of the pressure member toward thebearing seat. The spacing 26 between the lower ends of bearing 7 and thestop 25 is equal to or greater than maximum wear of the bearing 7 sothat pressure is always applied to the upper roll shaft in the pressurereleased position. However, since the pressure member 18 is free toslide in the wringer frame, there is no pressure applied between theupper and lower rolls.

In the pressure position, the inclined cam surfaces 16 are slid over thepins 17 so that the pressure members 18 are thereby rigidly fixed to theside stiles 8 and 9 of the wringer frame. As the slides are moved intothis position, the pressure members 18 are cammed downward relative,thereby separating the shaft 6 and the stop 25 and further separatingthe flange 20 and bearing seat 23 as shown in FIG. 3. Now, since thepressure members 18 are locked to the frame, the pressure of the springs19 is applied as wringing pressure between the rolls. The springs 19 actthrough the bearing seat 23 to pull the bearing 7 downward, therebyurging the upper roll 1 against the lower roll 2. As clothes go betweenthe rolls, the upper roll bearing 7 is forced upward and this movementis resisted by the springs 19.

As the upper bearing wears, the upper roll shaft becomes more deeplyseated into the roll bearing 7 and the clearances 24 and 26 decrease.This does not appreciably change the pressure exerted by the springs,even at the position of maximum wear indicated by dotted line 7a. Evenin this position there is still some clearance 24, 26 and the pressureof the springs 19 is applied between the upper roll bearing 7 and theupper roll shaft. If in the pressure released position there were noclearance 24 as in prior wringers, then with soft rolls or worn bearingsit would be possible for the bearing seat 23 and flange 20 to be seatedin the pressure position of FIG. 3 (in the absence of clothing betweenthe rolls) and wringing pressure sufficient to obtain a bite on theclothes would not be developed. While replacement of bearings and otherservice adjustments may be made in prior wringer constructions, theseare eliminated by the present construction.

The mechanism for moving the slide 13 to the pressure position consistsof a handle 27 pivoted at 28 on the outer end of the side stile 9 andconnected to the outer ends of the slides 13 by a pin 29. In FIG. 2, theupper roll 1 is shown spaced above the lower roll 2 to indicate how theupper roll may be moved upward to remove material from the rolls.Normally, in the pressure release position, the upper roll would rest onthe lower roll and the pins 17 would be opposite the cam surfaces 16. Inthis position, as the handle 27 is moved in a counterclockwise directionfrom the position shown in FIG. 2, the slides 13 are moved toward theleft and the cam surfaces 16 slide over the pins 17 and cam the pinsdownward to the FIG. 1 and 3 position, thereby developing the desiredpressure between the rolls. In this position, the slides 13 and the pins17 are in fixed relation to the side stiles 8 and 9 of the wringerframe. The handle 27 is held in this position by a catch 30 mounted onthe outer end of the side stile 9 and urged upward by a tension spring31. The catch 30 is slidably mounted on the side stile by a headed pin32 fixed to the side stile and extending through a slot 33 in the catch.As the handle 27 reaches the pressure applying position, a pin 34 on thehandle rides up inclined surface 35 and drops behind latch surface 36,holding the handle in the pressure position. The force exerted by thepins 17 on the inclined cam surfaces 16 urges the slides 13 to the rightand this movement is resisted by engagement of the pin 34 with the latchsurface 36.

The pressure may be released at any time by pushing the catch 30downward until the pin 34 clears the latch surface 36. For this purpose,a handle 37 is provided at the upper end of the latch. In case theslides do not move to the right when the latch surface 36 clears thepin'34, the lower end of the catch 30 is provided with a cam surface 38which engages pin 29 and forces the slides 13 to the right. The camsurface 38 is ordinarily unnecessary.

When the slides are moved to the right so that the cam surfaces 16 areclear of the pins 17 as illustrated in FIG. 2, the pins 17 are free toslide upward in slots 39 in the side stiles, thereby permitting therequired separation of the upper and lower rolls 1 and 2 to completelyrelease the pressure and permit removal of material from between therolls.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a clothes wringer of the type having a bottom frame withupstanding side stiles at each end of the bottom frame, an upper rolland a lower roll extending between the side stiles and each having ashaft, a lower roll shaft bearing mounted in pressure carrying relationat each end of the frame, an upper roll shaft bearing at each end of theupper roll, a seat for each upper roll shaft bearing slidably mounted inthe adjacent side stile, a pressure member slidable in each side stile,spring means connecting the pressure member and upper roll bearing seatin each side stile for moving the pressure member and the upper rollbearing seat toward each other, and releasable pressure means forpulling the pressure members downward and locking the pressure membersto the side stiles, the combination of stops on said pressure membersengaging the upper roll shaft in the released position of said pressuremeans and limiting the movement of the pressure members toward the upperroll bearing seats to provide in the released position of said pressuremeans a clearance between the upper roll bearing seats and pressuremembers equal to the maximum wear of the upper roll shaft bearings.

2. In a clothes wringer of the type having a frame, an upper roll and alower roll each having a shaft, a lower roll shaft bearing mounted inpressure carrying relation at each end of the frame, an upper roll shaftbearing at each end of the upper roll, a seat for each upper roll shaftbearing slidably mounted in the frame for'movement toward and away fromthe lower roll, a pressure member for each bearing slidably mounted inthe frame, spring means connecting the pressure member and upper rollbearing seat for moving the pressure member and the upper r-oll bearingseat toward each other, and releasable pressure means for pulling thepressure members toward the lower roll and locking the pressure membersto the frame, the combination of stops on said pressure members engagingthe upper roll shaft in the released position of said pressure means andlimiting the movement of the pressure members toward the upper rollbearing seats to provide in the released position of said pressure meansa clearance between the upper roll bearing seats and pressure membersequal to the maximum wear of the upper roll shaft bearings.

3. In a clothes wringer of the type having a frame, an upper roll and alower roll each having a shaft, a lower roll shaft bearing mounted inpressure carrying relation at each end of the frame, an upper roll shafthearing at each end of the upper roll, a seat for each upper roll shaftbearing, a pressure member associated with each upper roll shaftbearing, spring means connecting the pressure member and associatedupper roll bearing seat for moving the pressure member toward theassociated upper roll bearing seat, said pressure member and theassociated spring means and bearing seats comprising an assembly, andreleasable pressure means for pulling the pressure members toward thelower roll and locking the pressure members to the frame, thecombination of pressure transmitting connections on said pressuremembers engaging the upper roll shaft in the released position of saidpressure means and applying pressure through the upper roll shaft to theupper roll bearing seats to provide in the released position of saidpressure means pressure from the spring means to the upper roll bearingseats.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,355,916 10/1920 Schendler 682611,699,817 l/1929 Stocking 68262 2,223,860 12/1940 Schellenberg 68256 X2,327,998 8/ 1943 Clausen 68256 X 2,865,190 12/1958 Etten 682632,971,363 2/1961 Etten 68263 3,216,223 11/1965 Conlee 68256 3,224,23712/1965 Brandt 68257 FOREIGN PATENTS 137,959 7/ 1950 Australia.

LOUIS O. MAASSEL, Primary Examiner.

3. IN A CLOTHES WRINGER OF THE TYPE HAVING A FRAME, AN UPPER ROLL AND ALOWER ROLL EACH HAVING A SHAFT, A LOWER ROLL SHAFT BEARING MOUNTED INPRESSURE CARRYING RELATION AT EACH END OF THE FRAME, AN UPPER ROLL SHAFTBEARING AT EACH END OF THE UPPER ROLL, A SEAT FOR EACH UPPER ROLL SHAFTBEARING, A PRESSURE MEMBER ASSOCIATED WITH EACH UPPER ROLL SHAFTBEARING, SPRING MEANS CONNECTING THE PRESSURE CHAMBER AND ASSOCIATEDUPPER ROLL BEARING SEAT FOR MOVING THE PRESSURE MEMBER TOWARD THEASSOCIATED UPPER ROLL BEARING SEAT, SAID PRESSURE MEMBER AND THEASSOCIATED SPRING MEANS AND BEARING SEATS COMPRISING AN ASSEMBLY, ANDRELEASABLE PRESSURE MEANS FOR PULLING THE PRESSURE MEMBERS TOWARD THELOWER ROLL AND LOCKING THE PRESSURE MEMBERS TO THE FRAME, THECOMBINATION OF PRESSURE TRANSMITTING CONNECTIONS ON SAID PRESSURE MEMBERENGAGING THE UPPER ROLL SHAFT IN THE RELEASED POSITION OF SAID PRESSUREMEANS AND APPLYING PRESSURE THROUGH THE UPPER ROLL SHAFT TO THE UPPERROLL BEARING SEATS TO PROVIDE IN THE RELEASED POSITION OF SAID PRESSUREMEANS PRESSURE FROM THE SPRING MEANS TO THE UPPER ROLL BEARING SEATS.